The Role of Earth, Air, Fire and Water in The Wars
Earth, fire, air and water play significant symbolic roles throughout the novel. They constantly change from the ordinary and life bearing to the unnatural and life threatening depending on if they are associated with the domestic life and the terrifying world of the wars.
Earth By earth they mean dryland and the ground, which consists of soil, dirt and rocks. The earth signifies form, structure, security and stability. Mother Earth is the ancient spiritual symbol which gave us life and formed all living things (plants, animals, etc.). Earth is what nurtures life, its always stable, solid and almost unchanged.
"Robert waited—holding his breath—thinking they were going to be buried alive. But the heaving stopped at last and it appeared that whatever was going to collapse had done so." (Findley, 122)
" The dead all lay with their faces in the mud—or turned to the walls of the trench. This was the only way they could be told apart from the wounded. All were a uniform shade of grey." (Findley, 131)
" Here, there was at least the promise of green. The toad at once had begun to burow into the welcome mud." (Findley, 155)
Air Air is what we breathe. It is an element of new life and possibilities. It is a component of thought and creativity. Without air, thought will have no movement or action. It also has to do with freedom.
" The melting snow began to turn to mist and the mist was filled with rabbits and Rowena and his father and his mother and the whole of his past life—birth and death and childhood. He could breathe them in and breathe them out." (Findley, 14)
" The air was blue with smoke and this plus the tremendous heat from the boilers drew off the oxygen. Everyone suffered from the headaches and men who'd lived outdoors all their lives passed out because they couldn't breathe." (Findley, 58)
"It tumbled over the edge and began to spread out over their heads—drifting on a layer of cold, dank air rising from the pool below them. Jesus. Gas." (Findley, 137)
Fire Fire is the element of change, passion, authority and leadership. Household (domestic) fire represents comfort, friendliness and human strength.
Symbolism is also very important to this novel. An example of this is the war; it symbolizes several different things. Finny explains to the head master that “We’re all
Although there are multiple themes in the novel, the most significant of all is the theme of rebirth. Rebirth is vastly portrayed throughout the novel, and becomes specifically crucial towards the end. Rebirth is present in every element of the book, and can be seen through setting, characters, plot, and even mood; however, the most critical representation of rebirth in this novel is that is symbolic value. Symbols not only play a huge role in presenting the theme, but they also add necessary depth and value to the story. The symbols of fire, blood, the phoenix, and mirrors are all excellent indications of the interpretation of the theme of regeneration in the novel.
The novel “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi tells us as readers narratives of different people that tie together through genealogy. This story also significantly focuses on the psychological side of a few characters such as Maame and, mainly in the end with Yaw. Throughout the story, something that really intrigued me was the Motif of fire: how it is portrayed during times of trauma, how it shows the significance of anxieties symbolically throughout the story, and how it also ties back to the family lineage of Effia in dreams.
Commentary - This is a metaphor becuase thw rod ‘chimney’ did not literally float in the air. From that context the reader cna understand that the word chimney had s powerful impact on theJews and thats why it stood out or “floated”. According to bibelhub.com chimney means a lattice, window, sluic in arab.
The four elements of nature - fire, water, earth and air - are frequently mentioned in association with Robert. Just like his family life, these destructive forces of nature are responsible for impacting the thoughts and mindsets of not just Robert but many characters throughout this novel. The four elements are portrayed in a positive way or negative way depending on the atmosphere. Fire would be a good example of this because it is a common element which has both positive and negative effects on the characters. This is shown by the quote, “The next thing he knew, he was naked and wrapped in a blanket and seated by a fire” (Findley, 89). Here, fire brings warmth and much-needed respite to all the characters that are seated around it. Even in the chaos of the war, the characters are able to feel comfortable and amuse each other. This way, the author creates a positive image of fire. Conversely, fire is illustrated in a negative way through this quote, “She told him the man (Captain Villiers) had been trapped in a fire and his vocal cords destroyed when he’d swallowed the flames” (Findley, 107). Here, the author emphasizes on the destruction that fire can cause especially during war. The invention of the flamethrower is very reminiscent of this. The mayhem caused by the element “Earth” is noteworthy. The dugouts that Robert resides in have become a “second home” for him. Meeting Poole, Rodwell, Devlin and Bonnycastle here makes Robert feel accepted and secure. When the landmines start to blow up near the dugouts, the author uses strong words to emphasize the demolition as revealed here, “His mouth and nostrils were clogged with Earth” (Findley, 121). Here, Findley’s signifies that Robert’s life is in peril caused by the collapsing dugouts. Robert is deeply disturbed as he has again lost a safe
In this article, The Fireman: Immaculate Manhood, Robyn Cooper reveals many concepts of fire. He says, "As spirit, fire is both purifying and heavenly, punitive and damning. Fire also symbolizes love and passion, as purifying and confining, burning passion as consuming and destroying. Fire is defined as a masculine principle because of the association of fire and heat with energy, life and power (man is sun, woman is moon). In relation to sexual generation, it was traditionally held that the spark of the semen ignited the cold womb to generate life.
"Feature Articles - Life in the Trenches." Firstworldwar.com. First World War, n.d. Web. 05 Apr.
The bodies lay as if there was an invisible battle line drawn, here some would meet for the last time, falling like dominos. The subject matter, like much of O’ Sullivan’s work, are of
Fire has become less a means of human survival and more of a form of entertainment. This world of shallow hedonistic people strives to be the same and the word “intelligence” is considered a dirty word. This society maintains a focus on a certain equality, where people born unequal made equal. Funerals for the dead are eliminated due to the sadness they bring and death is forgotten about quickly, with bodies being incinerated without a proper ceremony. Fire is idolized by this society and is considered the means to cleanliness.
An example of the cycle followed by her father, his father, and his father before him is told when Blunt recalls a major blizzard in December 1964 that trapped the family and some neighbors in their small homestead. She unemotionally describes how her father simply proceeded to go through the motions of keeping the pipes from freezing, calmly accepting the fact that he could do nothing as the storm progressed and he could not prevent loss of a of their livestock. Or how when he first ventured out to check on the animals in their nearby barn and nearly lost his way back in whiteout conditions. Later, when the storm passed, she told of playing amongst the frozen corpses of the cattle, jumping from ribcage to ribcage, daring her older brother and sister to cut off pieces of the animals, all with the calm acceptance that this was so normal, nothing strange about it.
Fire is used to symbolizes horror and death. One example takes place when they are on the train going to the concentration camp. A lady named Madame Schachter was separated from her family and was losing her mind. The fear and dehydration caused her to become delirious and hallucinate a fire. She screamed many time, this is shown when Wiesel states, “She continued to scream and sob fitfully. Jews, listen to me…I see a fire! I see flames, huge flames” (302). These screams were also foreshadowing the crematoria and the flames that were burning human bodies.
As the Industrial Revolution began, many factories were constructed and along with that, bad air to the environment. Pollution came about and filled up the entire sky with black smoke, as shown on document seven. While the factories produced not only materials but also pollution many people, especially factory workers, got sick and eventually died. Many factory workers got sick due to the enclosed areas that they worked in. Not only that many of the workers were surrounded by massive and dangerous
dead lying all about us as though they were so many logs(Brown, 115).” The soldier
General Description: Earth may be the most unique of all planets because of the life forms we know exist here and the way they utilize the Suns energy. The Earth is composed of a great amount of water, mostly in the form of oceans, which make up most of its surface. It also contains various gases, of which make it possible for us humans to exist and is a system that exists between plants and animals here.
	The pounding of shells, the mines, the death traps, the massive, blind destruction, the acrid stench of rotting flesh, the communal graves, the charred bodies, and the fear. These are the images of war. War has changed over the centuries from battles of legions of ironclad soldiers enveloped in glimmering armor fighting for what they believe to senseless acts of guerrilla warfare against those too coward to be draft-dodgers. Those who were there, who experienced the terror first hand were deeply effected and changed forever. In their retinas, images of blood and gore are burned for the rest of their life.